Wright State (20-13) reached the final by knocking off No. 1 seed Cleveland State, a two-time winner over the Raiders in the regular season.
The Norse (20-9) also swept the season series with the Raiders, but all the marbles go to the winner Tuesday night at Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
“It’s definitely a big stage for a a lot of us,” first-team All-Horizon League guard Tanner Holden said Monday night. “We’ve had a great week of preparation. We’ve been ready to play since last Tuesday. I think this is the best mentally we’ve been.”
Holden has been WSU’s top overall player on the season, but center Grant Basile was the man of the match Monday night with game-highs of 27 points and 11 rebounds.
Trey Calvin (17 points), Holden (12) and Tim Finke (12) also scored in double figures for the Raiders, who hit 9 of 18 shots from 3-point range while CSU went 3 for 20.
“We’ve really focused on defense and locked them up today,” said Holden, the Horizon League’s No. 2 scorer during the regular season. “We can’t sit on this one too long. We’ve got to be ready for tomorrow.”
Wright State has won the Horizon League Tournament twice, most recently in 2018 when the Raiders topped CSU in the championship game to earn their third NCAA Tournament berth in Division I.
Northern Kentucky has won the HL tourney three times, including 2019 when the Norse knocked off the Raiders in the final.
Coach Darrin Horn’s team is headlined by Horizon League Freshman of the Year Sam Vinson and Marques Warrick, who won that award last year.
Warrick was sixth in the league in scoring during conference play at 17.3 points per game and second in the league with a 3-point percentage of 35.8.
Vinson was fourth in the league in steals at 1.75 per game, and defense is the name of the game for NKU.
The Norse allowed the fewest points per game in league play (64.45) and finished third in field goal percentage defense and 3-point percentage defense.
Wright State had the league’s No. 1 offense (76.9 PPG) and finished sixth in points allowed (69.7) and opponents’ field goal percentage (45.3).
The Raiders were second in field goal percentage (48.5) and fourth in 3-point percentage (34.8).
NKU swept the regular season series against Wright State by scores of 75-71 and 73-63 and crushed No. 2 seed Purdue Fort Wayne 57-43 in the second semifinal Monday night.
Wright State leads the all-time series with NKU 27-15, but the Norse have won both Horizon League Tournament meetings. They knocked WSU out in the second round in 2017 then topped them in the championship game two years later.
Wright State has played in the Horizon League Tournament final seven times and won it twice.
The Raiders beat Butler in 2007 and CSU three years ago to earn the second and third NCAA Tournament berths in the Division I era, which began in 1987.
They also made the Big Dance in 1993 when they won the Mid-Continent Conference.
“Not a lot needs to be said — they know what to do,” WSU coach Scott Nagy said of preparing for the biggest game of the year.
“Honestly for me, I’ll probably stay away from the players for most of the next 20 hours or so. Everything will be treated as normal for sure. We’ve got a pretty experienced group, so I don’t think they get too high or too low. They know there’s still work to do. I’ve been there. I know what it takes.”
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